Adventures in post-apocalyptic worlds can be a lot like adventures in a medieval fantasy- you can wander the earth, run into monsters and bandits, and towns in need of help. However, your seting is generally quite different, and societies are changed in the way that they react to things. Here are some quick adventure hooks which you can use for a post-apocalyptic setting, with a nod to the Fallout universe, which a friend of mine is using for running a game at the moment.
1. The Way- A couple has gone missing from their home where their adult children lived with them- their things are gone, and they seem to have just packed and left before dawn. They might have headed off to a local market some miles away, but no-one there has seen them, and some of their things are found at the side of the road, days later and leagues away. Have they fallen prey to bandits? Why would they have gone so far? 2. Crossroad Blues- A traveller urgently needs to reach another town to save the life of their friend, and time is running short. They have stopped at a crossroad, begging any passers-by for help. What is it that is so urgent about their journey? What is threatening their friend? 3. Stormy Weather- The weather conditions locally have worsened, and the moods of people locally are growing worse. People are growing short-tempered with one another, and even friends are grating on one another. Is it just the weather, or has something awful from Before been stirred up by the storms, mutating minds and bodies alike? 4. Red Sails In The Sunset- Raiders are travelling using some form of wind-powered land vessels, and spying their red sails on the horizon stirs fear in the heart of people. How is it that they're travelling so swiftly, and can anyone else use these devices? 5. In A Shanty In An Old Shanty Town- A young person is desperate to escape their family to reach their distant lover, who dwells in a very scrappy area of town. Their family wants them to stay safe and healthy, and is willing to pay money to strangers to shepherd them home, or at least keep them protected. 6. Summertime- The stinking heat of summer has brought wild beasts out of the wastes, looking for plentiful food sources. The living has been easy for a little while, and people's defenses have been lowered, and urgent action will be needed to protect a town, including a newborn which can't be quieted. 7. Thanks For The Memory- A memory-harvesting machine has been built, able to record and relive memories from people willing to undergo the procedure. The owner asks for help to find interesting individuals with memories that could be entertaining for others to relive- adventurers, rulers, entertainers. 8. Tumbling Tumbleweeds- A desolate area seems to be inhabited only by dust and tumbleweeds blowing in the wind. However, local rumour says that the vast fenced-off area contains a few old military robots, and some curious warehouses at its centre, but with miles of wasteland to cross, it may be too much danger to risk for the little possibility of reward. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 15 June 2021. In this mission, your players must battle against heretics who have overthrown the justly appointed Governor of an Imperial world, scour the jungle to find his downed troop carrier, and then desperately defend against hordes of oncoming enemies.
This relies on them being servants of, or at least able to work alongside, the Imperium. Adventure Summary: Act I: Purgatorio Tower begins in the heart of the action, with the PCs already on the planet of Gulryka VIII. Your players are tasked by their employer with evacuating the Planetary Governor before the heretics can capture him. They must fight their way through the Imperial Governor's Spire, surrounded by the contrast of fabulous wealth and filthy rebels. Fighting through mobs of those who have turned against the Emperor's Light, they will assist a squad of Tempestus Scions in evacuating Lord Paradiesz in a Valkyrie troop carrier, before fleeing to their own secondary evacuation zone with his Aide. Witnessing the battle taking place and fearful of anti-aircraft fire over the city, the Valkyries turn and head out over the jungle, before the Governor's ship is shot down by missiles from the jungle. Act II: Paradiesz Lost follows the PCs as they, and the remnants of the Scion squad, find a safe landing zone, and attempt to reach the Governor's Valkyrie crash site to locate any survivors. The wreck is in an clearing filled with electromagnetic radiation, preventing easy scans. Worse, the wreck is under fire from local rebels, making a safe landing impossible. Navigating through the dangerous jungle, and guided by the Governor's loyal servant Virgil, the PCs must battle hostile local fauna as well as traitor forces attempting to reach the wreck. There, they can find that the governor has been killed in the crash, leaving his young child the sole heir to the Governorship. Act III: The Inferno leaves the PCs defending the landing site from increasingly dangerous rebel reinforcements while they wait for their own air support to arrive. These waves include elite rebel troops armed with better weapons and equipment, as well as some heavy weapons teams and one of the rebellion's commanders, a heresiarch with devious power. It will take all their cunning and strength to hold out against the overwhelming assault. If they can manage to do so, the PCs might discover just who it is that has led the planet astray, and why the young heir escaped miraculously unharmed. Background: Gulryka VIII, a verdant agri-world famed for its city-sized trees and thriving jungle, has been a debacle for the last forty years. His reign plagued by disloyalty, sabotage, and outright ineptitude, the Planetary Governor has failed to fulfil his Emperor-given duties and contain the unrest. Wiser heads have foreseen this eventuality, and stationed useful assets (like your Player Characters) nearby, where they can react quickly to the disaster. The rebels, originally clans of disaffected woodminers, have been infiltrated and subsumed by servants of Chaos, who would see ruin come to the Imperium. Although few in number, the power of these cultists has bolstered and reinforced the rebellion, driving it to greater heights of military success, and lower depths of horrific excess. On Il Giorno Della Fiamma, the prophesied Day of Flame, the rebels and cultists rose up and were able to seize control of the planet's significant resources, such as the world's Astropathic Choir and Arbites Precinct House. After days of heavy fighting, they have finally stormed the last bastion of Imperial control, the Governor's Spire in the city of Nuovodis. Dramatis Personae: This section presents the background information and roleplay notes for a few NPCs who play major parts in this adventure. Planetary Governor Wilcon Paradiesz Governor Paradiesz is a typical example of someone with profoundly limited capacity, but who has surrounded himself with sycophants who tell him about naught but his own grandeur. As Planetary Governor of Gulryka VIII, he has avoided dealing with his problems just long enough for them to result in his doom. Dressed in rich brocades and silks and wearing rings worth more than the value of a small lightflyer, the Governor bears his Staff of Office and an autocenser which puffs pleasing soporifics when it senses he is disturbed. If the PCs spend any time with him, they will find Governor Paradiesz mystified by the kerfuffle, as he truly fails to understand how commonfolk function, or why they might object to his wholly benevolent rule. Governatorial Heir Belcam Paradiesz First Heir Belcam is a spoiled tween, schooled by hypno-indoctrination but with no life experience outside of the Spire. Their baptism in fire will be a formative experience for their adulthood, and the PCs have an opportunity to contribute some wisdom that may echo for years to come. Consort Yeehra Consort Yeehra is the Governor's favoured consort and secondmother to Heir Belcam. She is impeccably dressed in flowing silk dresses and jewellery, and appears quite young and wide-eyed. She has, however, been planted as a protective asset by the Governor's Aide, Virgil. A combat-hardened veteran of the Tempestus Scions, Yeehra is not only equipped with several digital lasers, but is also a master of unarmed combat and improvised weaponry. Her steely confidence will be invaluable and irreplaceable. Governor's Aide Virgil Virgil is the Governor's faithful advisor, with drab grey robes and prominent bionics, including some cognition circuits to assist his memory and the administration of the whole system. He is utterly devoted to service of the Governor, but his work is largely taken for granted, and he is instructed to travel with the PCs, largely so that the Governor doesn't have to listen to him drone on. He is quiet while in public, but surprisingly talkative, often sprouting trivial and/or extremely useful information about buildings or plants he is passing. His constant hard work is all that has managed to delay this catastrophe so far. Tempestor Prime Anadin, 29th Aeten Commandos The Tempestor Prime is a highly trained and patient hunter, devoted in service to the Imperium. Trained since birth to be a relentless killer, Anadin is frustrated to have been cooling his heels on Gulryka VIII for the past three years, bound to personal guardianship of the Governor by Sector command. While he initially resents the PCs' involvement as untrained newcomers, he will soon come to value their diverse talents and abilities. Heresiarch Vercullo The woman known only as 'Vercullo' is one of the Heresiarchs of Gulryka, who formed the rebellion and drove it onwards to its current success. Indoctrinated long ago by agents of the Hydra, Vercullo has spent years fomenting the unrest that has led to the overthrow of Imperial authority on Gulryka, and she will not see her successes and opportunity thrown away by outsiders. She has a fine grasp of guerrilla tactics, perhaps from experience in her former life, and masterminded both the overall planetary uprising and the surgical strike on the Governor's Spire. Lax vox-discipline has led her to the wreck of the Governor's Valkyrie, and she is more than willing to give her minions the glory of the kill - and soak up any final defences, of course. Overcoming her will be vital to escaping Gulryka VIII and keeping the Heir alive. Vercullo wears carapace armour looted from a slain Tempestus Scion, underneath tattered robes covered in both political propaganda and dark runes. Wielding a daemon-tainted weapon made in the forges of Dercuter, her face is a mass of scars, hidden under a half-mask of shimmering scales. What do you do when the local adventurers have killed some tremendous beast? Just bury it? Good luck with that! No, all that can be useful materials for crafting and industry! Fat can be rendered for tallow, or grease, ambergris can be turned into perfume, skin can be turned into leather, the flesh might even be good for eating, if you're lucky.
Depending on the size of your titan, the industry around it can be quite vast. Even butchering whales (sadly) is a big business which makes a lot of work for people. The MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy had Knowhere, the severed head of a truly gigantic being, now the size of a large moon, which was being mined for sinovial fluids and brain matter. It served as the setting for the midpoint of the movie, and made for a really fascinating location to visit. How you can use a Titan Butchery in your game: - I've seen a campaign idea that based a city in the rotting corpse of the (super-sized) Tarrasque, regenerating so quickly that it was a constant battle to use and dispose of the flesh quickly enough to stop the roads and buildings being overgrown, like a fast-growing lawn. Something like this can serve as a constant ticking clock, campaign threat, and really memorable setting all in one. - Having some sort of leviathan-rendering location in or near a city can make for a great chase or fight scene location; battling through the corpse of a vast critter or sliding down its carapace to reach a target are great, fun things which can make for stories people tell about for ages. - A Necromancer who's come to town might head to a titan butchery for... parts. Parts that would worry just about everyone who heard about this situation. This might lead to some fast and no-nonsense employment for PCs. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 22 August 2019. The Soul Engines, a product of the Ethergaunt War of last century, are devices of cruel efficiency in harnessing and channeling life energy. Many survived the dreadful conflict, and have been salvaged for usage by mages and powerful lords.
These arcane machines are forged of otherworldly metals and ceramoplastic substances, as well as large, glowing crystals with a blue radiance. They usually attach to their 'donors' with heavy cabling that stick to skin as if by magnetic force. The donor's life essence is leeched out permanently, 1 hit point per hour on the lowest setting, and up to 1 hit point per round at the fastest setting. 'Donors' are often paralyzed or restrained while being leeched, and these hit points cannot be restored without healing magic of at least 7th level spells. Those who have been leeched in such a way often appear shriveled and emaciated, if they even survive. The tenders of such devices often remove dessicated corpses from the leeching cables if they are not cautious. The life essence is stored in crystal batteries, some small and portable (about carrot size), while others are gigantic (the size of a human standing up). They can be used to fuel arcane devices, at the cost of (1 hp x spell level x spell level) of life essence, so recharging an empty wand of 50 charges for a 1st-level spell would cost 50 hit points, while fuelling a device that maintains a Private Sanctum spell would cost 25 hit points' worth of life essence each 24 hours. Ethergaunt arcanotechnology is based on this transaction of life essence, and before the war last century, they had ventured across galaxies and realities, harvesting millions of civilizations and eradicating their deities. They have no ethical qualms about this process, seeing it merely as the cost required to fuel their magnificent expansion. How you can use Soul Engines in your game: - Salvaged Soul Engines might fuel colossal arcane cannons to defend a city. Citizens who volunteer a portion of their life essence are released from some of their obligations to pay taxes for the year. In times of emergency, prisoners might be conscripted to fuel a cannon's more regular use. - A mage who has found and accessed one of these devices might try to build up life essence by taking those who will not be noticed- orphans, the homeless, or less-privileged races. This might provide a way for Player Characters to find out about one of these devices. - In a situation where charging some kind of MacGuffin device is required, your Player Characters might be forced to use a Soul Engine to source the enormous amount of energy required. Whether they rely on donations from others, or donate life energy themselves is up to them... Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 14 April 2019. It’s a staple of many “HFY” stories that humans can pack-bond with anything, from wild animals, to Roombas, to a volleyball, to a robot marooned to die on an alien planet. They often advocate or even take extreme actions to recover or repair such objects, baffling other creatures.
While it seems to be partly a learned behavior, from hearing childrens’ stories about animate objects which cannot be animate (trees, socks, or children’s toys are common), part of it seems to be innate to humanity. It’s a triumph of humanity’s spirit over uncomforting logic. Let’s gamify that! Humanic Empathy is an ability gained by humans and those who are mostly-humans (half-Orcs, half-Elves, and similar races, but probably not Tieflings and Aasimar, unless they were raised thinking they were human) . When a character pack-bonds to a thing, identifying it as something valued and given personality characteristics which they wouldn’t normally have, their Humanic Empathy is activated. The object must be given a name, even if that’s “Spellbook McBookFace”. The human then gains a +1 determination bonus on saving throws against any effect which would force them to harm or otherwise abandon the object or creature. In addition, if the human is in touch contact with the thing for the majority of a long rest, they heal an additional 1 hit point during the rest. However, if the object is lost, damaged, or destroyed, the human gains no benefit from the next long rest immediately following. Why humans cannot easily extend this empathy to fellow intelligent creatures is unknown, and studied by many sages. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 15 February 2019) Exploring the ruins of previous civilizations is a time-honoured RPG tradition. But what if the ruins were a bit more recognizable? Adventuring through the wreck of something recognizable (or at least, you know what it was or is likely to be) can be a change from the usual mildewed stone walls. Archaic markings in yellow and black might warn of long-forgotten practices, and tin signs bearing glyphs might be caution signs for hazardous chemicals, or be warning of automated defenses. Deckplans, basic schematics, or blueprints may be available online for all sorts of things, like shopping malls, cruise ships, or office buildings, which you can use. And having that kind of knowledge up front can make for a much more interesting dungeon-crawl than a standard “underground structure” one. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 26 November 2018) Categories All When building your world, a fun way to have ruins and monsters and magic items scattered around is to have previous civilizations which have fallen, leaving the remnants behind. You could go for the Tolkien style and have “ruins of the Kingdoms of Man”, peppered with old Elven ruins or something, it’s a fairly strong theme that most people will “get” immediately. However, another option is to go a bit stranger. A long-term post-apocalypse setting can be really interesting (so, less Mad Max and more Shannara). Ancient ruins could use the floor plan of your local university, or a skyscraper. They could be old military bases which used to have automated defenses. They’re probably powered-down now, right? Or go even further- use crashed and abandoned or ruined spaceships. Relics of this time could literally win kingdoms on their own, if you can power them up. What it comes down to is how people remember their past- whether there is a strong tradition telling the story of The Shepherd who broke the galaxy and marooned everyone on their own planets, or the Demon who fought against the Reclaimers to preserve humanity, having some kind of creation-myth is important to just about any Worldbuilding you do. (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 12 November 2018) Categories All Where you set an encounter can really make a difference. Sure, it can just be another blank white unremarkable corridor, but when you need to pull out the stops and make an firefight or laser sword battle worth remembering, here are some ideas: • Inside an alien wildlife park, with loose exhibits running past (maybe threatening people) • Inside a clifftop science facility with quarantine rooms • In the landing bay of a massive cruiser, open to vacuum • Inside a failing ship in decaying orbit around a dying sun • Within a city-sized open-cut mine, with skyscraper-sized cutting and digging machines • Atop a towering structure above a glittering city • Inside an underwater facility with flooded sections • Hide-and-seek through the accessways and hatches of an enormous factory ship • Inside a futuristic weapons manufacturing plant, with lots of explosive parts scattered around • In a howling blizzard, on a planet deep in a nuclear winter • In the middle of an active warzone, trying to avoid attention from both sides • On high mountain plateaus with primitive rope bridges connecting them • In a cloud-mining facility, held up by tremendous gravity fields • A lush tourist resort on a ‘paradise planet’ • In a neon-lit futuristic city, swept by driving acid rain • A facility built atop the caldera of an active volcano • In an active manufacturing facility, with whirring machinery all around • On construction scaffolding around a partially-built stratoscaper • Under immense gravity, on the outside of a moving warship • In a colossal server-farm, with tight fields of view and fragile electronics all around • Inside a “professionally neutral” bank vault I originally wrote this list for a 4e-based Mass Effect game, but it can work as easily for Star Wars, Star Trek, Starfinder, Traveller, whatever you’d like, really (Originally posted on Game Masters Stash on 16 August 2018) Categories All |
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